With the EFAF Cup meeting taking place in Mallorca this weekend, the Coventry Jets learned their schedule for the 2011 EFAF Cup. A difficult road lies ahead for the British runners-up as they will first travel to the suburbs of Paris for a first ever encounter with the Cougars de Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône. The match up will take place on the 23rd of April and will be Coventry's first competitive match of the season after a tough pre-season.
Visiting the Butts Park Arena on the 7th of May, to complete the group stage, will be two times Danish Champions the Søllerød Gold Diggers. This will be another first for the Jets as they've never faced a team from Denmark. The Gold Diggers, who play their games in Naerum approximately 10 miles north of Copenhagen, have faced off against the Triangle Razorbacks in the previous three Mermaid Bowls, Denmark's national championship game, winning the past two.
The Gold Diggers were eliminated by Sweden's Carlstad Crusaders in last seasons EFAF Cup as the Swedes went on to reach the final courtesy of a 27-0 victory over the London Blitz. The Cougars boast the signing of former UCLA Bruins starting quarterback Kevin Craft as they look to improve on last season's nail-biting semi-final loss in the French championship.
Apart from the last minute loss to eventual champions the Amiens Spartans, the Cougars also came up just short against Coventry's nemesis, the London Blitz, in the group stages of the EFAF Cup last year. Jets' General Manager Gerry McManus was excited by the challenge "It's a tough group, a very difficult ask to qualify from" said the legendary Head Coach. "We're working hard off the field already and making sure we plan our pre-season correctly so we'll be ready to go in April."
McManus and his coaching staff are continuing the search for new recruits and will be working with rookies from the age of 14 upwards every Sunday at Pinley RFC at 10:30am. For more details on the Coventry Jets and to find out how you can be part of their 2011 campaign, please visit their website www.covjets.com or follow them on Twitter www.twitter.com/CoventryJets.